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Posted on: June 11, 2019

County Leaders Tour Maryvale Hospital

A court room, mental health services, space for attorneys, and an active emergency room are all coming together under one roof on the west side of Phoenix. Members of the Board of Supervisors and County leaders recently joined Superior Court and Maricopa Integrated Health Systems (MIHS) for a tour of the renovated Maryvale Hospital.

“This project not only brings this neighborhood much needed access to emergency care, it also fills a critical gap in service for those with mental health needs” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, District 3. “By staffing a court room at the hospital, we are going to improve service for thousands of people every year who are ordered to undergo mental health evaluations and inpatient care.”

For Supervisor Steve Gallardo, District 5, changes at the hospital are personal because Maryvale is home.

“I broke my arm when I was nine years old and this is where they brought me,” Gallardo said while standing in the renovated waiting room. “When the future of this hospital was up in the air, I was worried. I couldn’t be happier that MIHS was able to open the emergency room and add capacity for behavioral health services which affects all our neighborhoods.”

MIHS officials say the emergency room is already seeing as many as 80 people per day. There will eventually be 192 beds for psychiatric patients. Most of those patients will be undergoing court-ordered treatment.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved the tentative budget which includes approximately $2.5 million to outfit and staff the courtroom on the second floor of the hospital. This will include space for public defenders and deputy county attorneys to work on cases. The courts continue to see a rise in cases of people who need mental health services and are sometimes involved in the criminal justice system.